How to get a job in Taiwan

Part of my working in Taiwan series

Picture is completely not related to the post.

It's now been over a year since I've moved to Taiwan and one of the things that happened very fast around that time was my first job. A month after arriving here, I was invited to an interview at an IT company and soon after I have started to work. I was lucky though - it's not so easy to get a real job, I mean a job other than English teaching. And most Europeans, who don't hold a British or Irish passport, can't legally work for an English language school. So if you're French, German, Russian, Polish, Slovenian or of any other non-Anglo-Saxon origin and want to work in Taiwan, this post is intended for you, as I am about to explain how I landed my first job here, and further elaborate in future posts how it is to work for a Taiwanese IT company and eventually how to change job, something I've successfully accomplished, too.

No tips on English teaching

First of all let me tell you, that you won't find any tips on teaching English in Taiwan here - Even though I'm regularly receiving emails from people asking me about it, I have no idea how that "industry" works. For information related to that you better browse through the numerous topics on Forumosa or read a dedicated blog like this one. I can only give you one general tip: If there is one thing Taiwan doesn't need now is more English teachers. From what I hear the wages are dropping every year due too more supply than demand - so unless you're a serious, certified and highly-educated English language expert aspiring a career job at one of the top universities, don't come here and waste your youth in a cram school. And if you must do so, rather hop over to China, you will have more opportunities, the market is much larger - it's the place to be for young adventure-thirsty North Americans.

You need visa and time

Like most EU citizens, you will probably be allowed to stay in Taiwan for 90 days. If you haven't yet secured a job before your arrival, you won't have a lot of time. Of course you can fly out to Hong Kong after 89 days and come back to Taiwan few days later and get another 90 days to stay, but I would generally discourage this behavior, as you never know, if it will really work out well for you. Three months might be tight, but could be enough for you to go through the necessary stages before starting to work, which are: Sending applications, going to interviews, making a medical check and waiting for the working permit to be processed by the officials. In my case, I didn't really have a problem with time, as I held the Alien Resident Certificate (further ARC) based on my marriage and I knew I won't be chased out after three months. Of course, if you're already holding an ARC, you have a better chance to land a job, as your employer doesn't need to apply working visa for you. He only needs to register you, but he saves time and money and he will be sure, that you won't run back to your country, when things get tough. And they will get tough for sure.

Starting from zero

Best way to start looking for a job is to have someone local helping you. In my case it was my wife - she was kind enough to translate my resume from English to Chinese and published it on 104.com.tw, the oldest and most popular employment website in Taiwan. There are other websites as well, such as www.123.com.tw and www.1111.com.tw, but they don't enjoy a reputation as high as 104.com.tw. Most Taiwanese companies simultaneously publish job offers on their websites, if you know the industry you want to work in, you can pick individual companies and send your resume to them directly. On the employment websites however it's common, that a company's HR sends you an email or calls you to invite you for an interview (that's what happened to me). Nevertheless, don't expect an invitation right the next day after you've created your profile on 104.com.tw, it might need few weeks, before you get an offer from a serious company. You might get a lot of offers from some small companies related to insurance or LED technology - I generally disregard these offers, as these businesses won't bring you far in Taiwan. Be selective, research the company's websites and ask a local Taiwanese to browse through the forums - there are some, that discuss companies and share experiences regarding how it is working in them.

The interview

The interview is probably the most important step on the way to employment, as Taiwanese companies don't only value your educational background and experience, they will judge your character and give you a set of standard questions, such as: What have you achieved so far? Where do you see yourself in the future? Name 5 of your strengths and 5 of your weaknesses. Can you speak Chinese? How did you come to Taiwan? It's very likely, that you'll first be asked to solve an IQ or personality test, but based on my understanding, these tests are rarely checked and mostly don't matter - nevertheless, if you get one, finish it seriously and take them as if they are very important. What matters is a key competence such as your previous job, university degree, language skills, product knowledge, understanding of the market and of course your expected salary. If you come to an interview, no matter how run down the company headquarters look like, wear a suit, smile and be polite. That also includes taking the interviewers business card with two hands, briefly studying it and then placing it in front of you on the table during the whole interview. Treat a person's business card as his face, because that's what it is in a sense. Women generally don't shake hands, while men shake them firmly. Speaking Chinese is a plus, but not a must to get a job - at least say that you are learning. If you get a tour around the company, you most likely have got the offer already, however, they will still make you wait for few days before they tell you. You might also get an invitation for a second interview with a person of higher rank such as vice president or CEO - this also indicates, that your chances are looking good. He will speak about the company background and general strategy and if you want the job, you better agree with what he says.

The salary

Currently for a foreigner, who wants to be junior sales in an IT company, which is growing and expanding, you can get between 40.000 to 50.000 NTD (something like 1000-1200 Eur). If the company is stingy, you might get an offer lower than 40.000, if they are generous, you might get over 50.000. Keep in mind, that a Taiwanese junior sales will only get 30.000 something. Lucky for you and unfortunately for your Taiwanese colleagues, you can get a better pay than them with less experience - it's not fair, but that's how it is. If you have experience for the position you aim, you can demand 50.000, 60.000 or even more, but depends on the rank and the responsibility you'll have. Best is to research the web and ask some friends about how much a certain position should be paid - the differences can be very big. At almost every interview they will ask you how much pay you expect, if not on the first one, then on the second. General rule is to demand few thousand more than you expect and then go down. For example, if you expect 45.000 NTD, say 48.000, because the HR will most likely send you an offer letter with a couple of thousand NTD below your expected salary. That's part of their job, to save the company's cost (part of their KPI). Of course it's also possible that it doesn't happen, but in my cases it did. Also be sure to ask, how many salaries per year do you get. 13 is very common for a junior (only includes Chinese new year bonus), 14 is might be more common, if you're experienced and the company is good, while some of the best companies might offer you a package of 16 or even over 20 salaries per year (so I heard). There might also be incentives related to your performance, the so called quarterly bonuses - HRs love to mention them, but in some companies these bonuses are very meager. Nevertheless, it's better if they have them than not. Once you work in Taiwan's IT a little longer, you will care more about how much you earn per year, not per month and all these extras will influence your decision.

Why IT?

Taiwan is home to one of the biggest manufacturers of IT products in the world, especially huge in semiconductor field. In the past, the focus was strong on ODM/OEM business and most of the companies are still satisfied with this role (most prominent example is Apple's supplier Foxconn), but a lot of Taiwanese IT companies have established themselves as worldwide known brands in the past decade, among them Acer, ASUS, AVerMedia, Gigabyte (all computer and peripheral equipment), A-Data (storage, RAM, memory cards), AG Neovo, BenQ (LCD monitors), D-Link, ZyXel (communications and internet) and recently coming to fame - HTC Corporation (communications, internet, cellphones). There are literally thousands of small and medium-sized IT companies popping up every year in Taiwan, trying to be the next Asus or HTC, usually in three key parts of Taiwan: Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu. You don't need to join one of the big ones to have a good career in Taiwan's IT, nevertheless, they are a safer choice, as they tend to be more organized. The industry is fast-paced, constantly changing and very challenging. But if you work in Taiwan's IT, you can say that you were right there in the front seat, when mankind migrated to the digital society of tomorrow. A lot of things are developed in Taiwan way before they land on the shelves of Western consumer electronics chain stores, usually under different brands. And that's what was so interesting to me to join an IT company in the first place, despite having no IT experience at all.

In conclusion

This is just a general overview of how it might happen to you based on how it happened to me. I can't go too deep, as I don't want to share too much details from my personal life, but I still hope that it's enough to give you a little insight on the procedure. Maybe you got a job in IT as well and your story is completely different. If so, please share your experience in the comments below, so that others can use it as a reference.

Next post in the series: Working in a Taiwanese IT company

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Taiwan from the Eyes of a Foreigner

Challenging the way a book about Taiwan was presented

"Taiwan from the Eyes of a Foreigner" is a book from 2011 written by a Canadian named Nick Kembel. His website was linked to me by my wife, because she saw it discussed on PTT. My first thought was: "Oh, another English teacher writing a book about Taiwan." First of all, let me be clear, that I have no problem, if English teachers write books about Taiwan. They are definitely a big community of foreign residents in Taiwan and it's fine if they share their experience. What I don't like is when the impression is made, that "the English teacher in Taiwan" represents "the foreigner in Taiwan" or "the Westerner in Taiwan" (euphemisms for "White person in Taiwan"). I haven't read the book, so I can't say anything about the content, but I don't like it the way it's presented on his website and reviewed and recommended by some other expat bloggers. Here are some examples:

Canadian Nick Kembel delves into the foreigner experience of Taiwan, based on two years of teaching English to children in the heart of Taipei City.

From a website dedicated to the book, source.

More appropriate would be: one foreigner's experience of Taiwan.

Kembel's blend of history, travelog and personal observations is aimed at both Taiwanese people who'd like to know what Westerners think of their country and Western people curious about the island's culture.

From the Blog Bradt Travel Guide, source.

More appropriate would be: what one Westerner thinks of their country.

For Taiwanese readers who are curious about how foreigners perceive Taiwan, they will find what attracts his attention an interesting (and perhaps sometimes startling) mirror, and the mental journeys he takes to interpret, understand and describe what he finds enlightening as to how the western mind reacts to Taiwan (whether the reader agrees with the conclusions or not).

From the website Taiwan Fun, source.

Why not: how one foreigner perceives Taiwan, how one western mind reacts to Taiwan?

In addition, you can read two interviews with the author, one on the TaiwanChannel and another one on Waakao. Let me stress once again, that I have nothing against the book per se, I just don't like the way it's advertised, because it gives the impression that the author represents all Westerners who live in Taiwan. I've read his biography on his website and learned about some of his experiences, views and impressions. I have to say very few match with mine and how I see and experience Taiwan - and I'm a foreigner and Westerner in Taiwan, too! It might be true that most White people in Taiwan are from North America and most work as English teachers, but there are a lot of Europeans here as well - we might not be "a community" like North Americans seem to be, but we are part of this society and we have opinions and views, which are not always the same with those of our North American friends, even though we all claim to be "Western" (whatever that means). The problem is, that Europeans (aside from Britons and Irish) usually don't work as teachers, we're scattered all over society, having very diverse jobs. And that's what's making it hard for us to have a sense of community. We usually have much less time than English teachers, we're more or less living the same life as most young urban Taiwanese (especially in Taipei).

I always take the term "Western" with a pinch of salt. It's a political term with lots of possible interpretations, but if you look closer, it becomes very vague. I would never see myself speaking on behalf of the "West" or thinking I'm representing the whole "West". I'm not even representing my small home country in any way - I am just me, that's all. I'm sure the author knows that, too, but when you promote a book, it sounds better, if you make yourself look more important than you are (referring to the notion of representing the West) - after all, you want to sell your book. Not sure, how well this book has sold so far, but the marketing strategy of the author is pretty impressive (he has two websites, one for him, one for the book). In any way, I wish him luck, but I have to stress, that the narrative surrounding the book and the author seems very cliched. And statements like this one don't help to improve this notion (from the interview on TheTaiwanChannel):

We foreigners speak very directly, coming from a culture that encourages independence and free thought, while the Taiwanese are not so accustomed to critical thinking, particularly in regards to their own culture.

By "We foreigners" he probably means "We North Americans", since Japanese, Thais, Uzbeks, Saudis and Zimbabweans are also foreigners and I have a feeling he doesn't refer to them in that statement. Generally, I feel the whole sentence is wrong, Taiwanese can be very critical of their own culture - you can easily notice that, if check discussions on PTT, blogs, Twitter, Facebook - challenging own customs and cultural norms is part of Taiwan's online community as well as something very normal among the young generation. On the other hand it's highly debatable, how independence and free thought are encouraged in some parts of North America. There are areas, where you are threatened with violence by very religious people, if you openly say that you're an atheist.

This is what happens, if you speak in a too broad and vague sense and the author seems to do so in his interviews. Not sure, if this is reflected in his book as well, but it's definitely something that would turn me off from buying it. Nevertheless, the author and I have a lot in common: We try to understand Taiwan, we try to present it to others or just want to give another perspective on what was already said before. I commend him for the effort and I can completely understand how much energy it takes to write. I haven't published a book yet (and I have no plan to do so), but my over 500 posts about Taiwan could surely be stuffed in a lot of books, if I wanted. This blog is my outlet, where I share whatever comes to mind. A lot of stuff is about Taiwan in recent two years, because this is where I live my life now and my blog is about my life - Kafkaesque that is. One day, when I return to Europe, I might have time to write a book about Taiwan. I hope someone will take the effort to write a critical review - if that will be the case, then I will know, that I made things right.

Related: [My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][My UNIQUELY TAIWANESE page]

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Images from Taipei Metro

Instagram photos of my daily commute

Taipei, a metropolis of 6 million people, has a very large subway system, which is very fast, clean and usually the most convenient way to commute. For a whole year I've been commuting from one end of Taipei to another and spent almost two hours underground. You can imagine, that it can get very boring and tiring, especially during rush hours, when you can't get any seat and every wagon is jam packed with people. It was very hard for me to get used to this during the first months of my life in Taipei, but now I'm commuting routinely and I'm not really bothered by anything anymore (and I used to be). I know exactly where are the least crowded wagons, where is best to stand in line and how to transfer to another train the fastest. Nevertheless, I have a lot of time to kill every single day. I'm usually listening to music on my iPhone, browsing Twitter or trying to read news, but the 3G is always so unstable down there. I have no choice but to observe people, observe the happening around me. After buying the iPhone last year, I've instantly got hooked on Instagram, a photo sharing app only available for iOS devices. I simply love it, it's my favorite iPhone app which keeps me occupied while I'm wasting my life in the Taipei subway. Photos below were taken during the past ten months, they can give you a small insight about how commuting in Taipei looks like.

See Taipei metro through my iPhone lens:

Train has arrived.

Standing in line.

Lonesome commuter.

Neverending?

Pushy obasan.

Crowds near the escalator.

Girl with mask.

Thoroughfare.

No more squeezing in.

School girl.

Leggy lady.

Rushing by.

Main Station maddness.

Sexy ad.

Managing the pushers.

Butterfly hair clip.

Trying to squeeze in.

That's a big one!

Readers.

Beautiful eyes ad.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station.

Having a grip.

Escalator candidates.

Cuteness has also infested Taipei Metro.

Christmas tree in one of the stations.

This is life in Taipei! Still wanna come?

Soda man.

Ximending girls.

Fluffy boots.

Sleeping in MRT is common in the morning.

Reading newspapers, too.

Last minute makeup retouch before work.

Lady in red.

Simple pleasures of living in Taipei.

Smartphone girl.

Lost in a pool of people.

Playing games to kill time.

Fluffy boots again!

Taking a nap the unconventional way.

Models are commuting, too.

Playing with the shoe.

Elegantly stretching the tired legs.

Hair, the musical?

Up there is heaven.

Focused reader.

Girls.

Mystifying eyes ad.

Cute hat.

Twirled leg (how can she do it?).

Lovers holding hands.

Almost coming.

Love Taipei.

This is what commuting in Taipei looks like to me. What are your thoughts and observations? If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me under the handle ninoart. Browse my huge collection of photos and drop a comment from time to time.

[My TAIPEI page][All photos by MKL, 2011/12, source: Webstagram]

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